East/West
aka Est-Ouest
First screened in February 2020
Director: Régis Wargnier. Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Oleg Menshikov, Sergei Bodrov Jr., Ruben Tapiero, Erwan Baynaud, Catherine Deneuve, Grigori Manoukov, Bogdan Stupka, Tatyana Dogileva, Meglena Karalambova, René Feret, Atanass Atanassov, Tania Massalitinova, Valentin Ganev, Nikolai Binev. Screenplay: Rustam Ibragimbekov, Sergei Bodrov, Louis Gardel, and Régis Wargnier.

 Twitter Capsule: Fundamentally familiar historical drama set in WWII-era Russia. Style bland but passable. Bonnaire whiffs central role.

VOR: ②  I learned something from tracking these historical predicaments, but a richer focus on Aleksei or a more ambitious style and script would have helped.


Photo © 1999 Sony Pictures Classics/UGC YM/France 3
Cinéma/NTV-PROFIT/Gala Film/ Mate Producciones S.A.

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: C+

Academy Award Nominations:
Best Foreign Language Film

Golden Globe Nominations:
Best Foreign Language Film
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